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New Orleans Pelicans guard Austin Rivers closes out summer league with 23-point performance against Washington Wizards

Rivers knocks ball away

New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Austin Rivers (25) knocks the ball away from Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the game between the Portland Trailblazers and New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on Wednesday, February 13, 2013. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

LAS VEGAS -- New Orleans Pelicans second-year guard Austin Rivers had already shown a remarkable turnaround since last season during his first four NBA Summer League games played this past week.

In Friday's finale, he made sure to finish out strong in the Pelicans’ 78-77 loss to the Washington Wizards during a losers bracket tournament game at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.

Rivers made his first six shots to start the game before finishing with a game-high 23 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the field. Rivers made all five free throws, dished three assists and grabbed three rebounds in 32 minutes.

Rivers didn’t miss his first shot attempt until three minutes into the third quarter on a contested layup after driving the baseline. In the third quarter, Rivers appeared to injure his right calf and was taken out of the game briefly. Once he returned, Rivers went back on the attack, taking advantage of his enormous offensive skills.

``I thought I was aggressive out there and played well,’’ Rivers said. ``This is the best that I’ve ever felt. I could have went 0-of-6, but it still would be the best that I’ve felt. Physically, I’ve never been this quick and strong and I’ve never been able to jump this high. My shot feels great.’’

He came into Friday’s game averaging a team-high 17 points on 43-percent shooting after four games. As a rookie last season, Rivers made only 37.2 percent of his shots after averaging 6.2 points and 2.1 assists.

To show that he had improved, Rivers opened summer league play with a 24-point performance against the New York Knicks last week and took off from there against competition that mostly involved rookies, second-year players and free agents trying to earn roster spots for training camp.

Rivers dazzled with his ability to make mid-range shots and consistently beat defenders off the dribble. He appeared to play with an edge that wasn’t noticeable last season as a rookie, when he often appeared overmatched and not athletic enough to attack the rim.

``The effort was there,’’ said Pelicans summer league coach Bryan Gates, who guided his team to a 2-3 record. ``He’s just got to continue let it come to him and not swing for the fences and use his other teammates a little better. But obviously he saw the lane today and he kept going. Overall, as all of us we still have a ways to go, but he is moving forward and he’s tilted up.’’

With summer league completed, Rivers said he’s heading back home to Winter Park, Fla., to continue working to prepare for this fall’s training camp. Rivers is likely to be in a battle for minutes at both shooting guard and point guard.

The Pelicans upgraded both guards spots significantly with recently acquired All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday and shooting guard Tyreke Evans, who could be shifted to small forward or come off the bench as the team's top sixth man. Starting shooting guard Eric Gordon led New Orleans with a 17.0 scoring average last season, but he missed 40 games due to a right knee injury and had strict restrictions imposed by team doctors that held him out of the second game of back-to-back sets to avoid overworking his knee. But rehabilitation from requiring surgery after the season to remove bone spurs from his left ankle is ahead of schedule and he's eager to play alongside Holiday and Evans.

``Next year is going to be a big year for me and I’m so excited because I know I can bring so much more to the table than I did last year,’’ Rivers said. ``Obviously what I’m doing is right and I have to continue getting stronger and come back to training camp even stronger than I am now. I want to come back quicker. When you go out there and do it, you can’t help but be confident and I did for all five games that I played out here.’’